Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Thaw out the shrimp if frozen and clean them up (meaning remove from shell, pull off tail and devein). Lay the shrimp out on a paper towel to dry out before adding to the baking dish with the other ingredients. I fully endorse using my children as free labor around the house, so here’s my 8-year-old prepping the shrimp so I can do the fun stuff.

Chiffonade or thinly slice the fresh basil, cut the lemon into wedges, crush a couple garlic cloves, and cube two tablespoons of butter.

When the oven is hot, lay the dry shrimp in your baking dish of choice and simply place everything else in the dish on top of the shrimp. Add more or less red chili flakes according to your preference. Remember you can always add more heat later, but taking it out is a different story. The crushed garlic is there more as an aromatic. However, if you want to take the shrimp further down the garlic path, mince it up and mix into the shrimp. Yum. Cover with foil (or a lid) and bake for 15-20 minutes.

The shrimp comes out perfectly cooked every time–delicately poached in garlic lemon butter. This essentially hands-free preparation allows you to throw together a couple side dishes while the shrimp bakes, getting dinner on the table in about 30 minutes.